Soldier On
by AwkwardGems
Summary: AU: Annabeth's been kicked out of her house in San Francisco, and run away from her family and friends. Hoping to stay with family in Las Vegas, she travels there, and lands herself in a horrible, but bearable job. But old memories, old friends, keep turning up...Swearing and sex REFERENCES; rating subject to change. I don't own PJ characters, just any O/Cs and the plot
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Funny how life treats you? The nicest people have the worst lives. I shouldn't even be here. I should be living it up at college, sorting out my future. Instead I'm stuck on replay, the days blurring into months, a never-ending cycle of filth.

It all started one day when I came home from senior year with my final math test of the year. I got an A, as per usual, but that wasn't considered good enough for my father and Krista-May, the slut of a step-mother I got stuck with. We got into this massive argument which resulted in Krista-May hacking into my Facebook account, posting lies all over my profile, calling me a retard and kicking me out.

I ran away. Stupid, I know, but my so-called 'friends' thought I was some sort of slut now. I left San Francisco, and headed North-East. I had family in Vegas I could crash with. When I got there, I found out they'd died 2 years ago. But I met Thalia, and we grew close. We'd both been through so much, and we couldn't trust anyone but each other.

And now I'm stuck in this hell-hole, slowly dying, fading into nothing. But it's better than living with that stuck-up bitch.

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**A/N: ****I don't own anything, just my OCs and my failed attempt at drawing a cover-image.** (I've forgotten to put that in every time!)

**So, I got the idea for this while reading **_Tricks_ **by Ellen Hopkins. It's a really good book, I'd recommened to everyone. Sorry this is short, but it's just the prologue, the chapters will be longer. And I apologise to anyone who may have the name Krista-May, I'm sure you're a lovely person. :)**

**A quick heads up, in the next few chapters, there will be a bit of swearing, so please let me know if you think the rating should be changed.**

**Love always,**

**AwkwardGems**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJ&O, or the song.**

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_"...Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but... I feel that I should be heard  
loud and clear. We all need a big reduction in amount of tears..."_

I hum along as the radio plays one of my favourite songs. I can relate to it. Back in the days when I lived with my father and the witch, we'd go to church all the time. But I couldn't relate to it, I didn't see any truth in it.

My mother was an incredible woman, highly intelligent, which is something I inherited. Whenever I would stay with her, she would teach me everything. Of Darwin and Da Vinci, Archimedes and Einstein, Faraday and Edison. She taught me to make my own opinions, which just so happened to oppose my step-family's highly religious views.

You know how I said the nicest people have terrible lives? Yeah, well, a week before I was going to move in with Mum full-time, instead of shared care, she was hit by a drunk-driver. And I got shipped off to my father's house, where I began my descent into this sanatorium in which I now reside.

"Anniebeth! I got a $50 tip today!" Thalia, my one and only friend squeals as she walks into the decrepit apartment we live in. Yeah, fancy words, whatever. Once an honour student, always an honour student.

I scowl when she calls me 'Anniebeth', but hug her. "Who? And where?" I question. Fifty dollars is a big tip, and is not to be taken lightly.

"Down at the 7-Eleven. Remember that buck's from last week? Yeah, well the best man saw me, and gave me $300 for an hour, plus the tip." She replies, walking over towards the two jars sitting on the kitchen bench, one labelled _Expenses _and the other _Freedom._

I know what you're thinking: Ugh. Another couple of whores, attention seeking sluts, desperate to get in anyone's pants for money. But even if I tried telling you we're different, that we didn't choose this life, it still doesn't change the fact that we are stuck in this situation. But we didn't want to have to go to extreme measures such as, well, prostitution. There, I said it.

After I ran away and found that the family I had here in Vegas was dead, I ran into Thalia. Well, she tripped over me as I sat outside their apartment crying. Turns out, she was trying to find the same people as I was. Her mum was an alcoholic, and started using drugs after her father left with her brother, seeking refuge in the army. Thalia was abused by her mum, and thought maybe she could crash with her aunt and uncle, who are my cousins, for a while. That night, with no-where for either of us to go, we went to a homeless shelter. We got talking, and confided in each-other. While we were talking, a girl our age joined us. She had bright red curls, and was obviously a hooker. She told us her name was Red, and told us we could crash with her for a while, but only if we 'assisted' her at work. Unable to deny a free home, we agreed.

But one year on, I'm sick of it. Sick of late nights and seedy men. Sick of stares I get from strangers and of drunks. I hate this city. I wish none of this had ever happened. I want to be a normal girl. I'm nineteen; I should be at college, having fun with my friends, not walking up and down streets, looking for some guy to screw.

"….he's pretty hot. I mean, if we weren't, ya know, us, I would totally ask him out. And god, was he good! And he was sweet. Bought me coffee and everything," Thalia's blabber brings me out of my trance.

"Thals, how much do we have in _Freedom_?" I ask, looking at the jar, stuffed full of notes.

"Hmmm, well, with today's tip, plus 75 of the fee, we've got….$845. We're going well, seeing as we only started the jars a few months ago," she smiles. "Freedom here we come. We can start over, a new city, a new life!"

I walk from the lounge room where I was sitting to the kitchen, where Thalia is yet again applying more mascara to her already thick lashes. I look around, wishing we could get a better place to live. As my eyes pass over the cheap clock on the wall, I jump. "Shit, Thals, we've got that buck's night in 10 minutes."

"ARGH!" she screams. "You made me jab mascara in my eye!"

"I don't care, we need to get going! NOW, _Electra_!" I say, quickly changing into my work clothes, knowing that Thalia hates her stage-name.

"As you wish, _Stormy_," she sighs in response, grabbing a fifty from _Expenses _for the cab.

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**AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR! WOOHOO! It's 2013, at least where I live it is, so I hope you all have a great new year! I don't normally update this quickly, but I was so encouraged by your lovely reviews! I'm not the sort of person who will ask for a cretain number of reviews before updating, though. **

**The song is "Dear God" by XTC. I heard it off the Perks of Being a Wallflower soundtrack. How brilliant is that film? Logan Lerman was perfect!**

**I'd like to give a thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited/reviewed ****_Soldier On, _****and I want to give a special thank you to ****_powerof thefreedom, _****for helping me with ratings! So at the moment, it will remain T, but if anyone has issues, let me know!**

**Love always,**

AwkwardGems.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJ.**

**Just a heads up, there's going to be a fair bit of swearing in here. This chapter will probably have the most swearing.**

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**Chapter Two:**

"Could that cabbie be anymore seedy? I was seriously considering getting out and running," I sigh to Thalia, who nods in agreement. We have no control over when Bozo, the owner of the club we frequent, tells us to come dressed in theme, let alone what theme it is.

Tonight's classy. Kind of weird, being a hooker and dressing up like a lady. Kind of contradictory. Oh well. Thalia, being so lady-like, is wearing the girliest dress we could find: a black dress, which flares out at her waist, and has a skirt of black sheer layers. She's got a pair of opaque tights on and black heels. I guess you could say she likes the colour black.

As for me, I'm wearing a pink sundress, with small purple flowers on it. The socks I'm wearing reach up over my knees, and i'm wearing chunky wedges. My long blonde hair is out, and it's gone all wavy. My make-up is minimal, but still obvious. I hate it, the smell of the powders and creams makes me sick. But if Bozo asks for something, you give it to him. I learnt that the hard way.

Thalia and I are walking into the club, and I run my hand over the flowers in the garden, plucking out a few honeysuckles, and sucking on them to cleanse my mouth. Suddenly, Thalia and I both stop dead in our tracks.

"Is that…" she trails off, knowing if we say that name, we might jinx ourselves into a horrible situation.

"Go, go, GO! Into the club!" I hiss, not wanting to see him with some other girl, not after what he did to me.

*_Flashback_*

_The air was cool, as was my boyfriend's expression as he walked over to me. _

_"Why the hell did you drag me here at this time, Annabeth?" he said, his eyes as cold as liquid nitrogen. _

_"What?" I look at him, but he refuses to make eye contact._

_"You know what, you fucking slut! Sleeping with half our year? Cheating on me, when all I've ever been is loyal to you?"_

_"Oh, really?" The sarcasm oozes out of my voice. "Do you not remember Melanie, Bethany, Stephanie, and Cleo? You tried to sleep with my step-mother! And I never cheated on you! You know I would never! It was Krista-May!"_

_"You seem to blame her a lot Annabeth. You know a lot of people don't like their step-parents, but that doesn't mean that you have to blame for every little thing that goes wrong. My mother sees things! She attacks me with frying pans! But I would never blame her for my mistakes." We're shouting now. Surely someone will wake up and hear us, it's not often you hear two teenagers screaming at each-other at 11:30 in the middle of a park._

_"Are you saying my life is just one big mistake?" I cried. Sure, we'd argued in the past, but it was never this extreme._

_"Well, lately that's all it's been. Sleeping with Principal Cygnet just so you could be valedictorian? Doing drugs in your free periods? I don't know what's gotten into you. Oh, the rest of _**my** _friends called, and they asked me to pass a message onto you: _Fuck you, you whore. Go die in a hole, see if we care. _I certainly wouldn't. Go screw yourself, oh wait, you've got a whole heap of people on speed-dial, waiting for you. That is if you can fit them all in, what with your extreme hours working at the _Adult's Arena._"_

_"You son of a bitch! How dare you! After all I've done for you, I've-" I was cut off, with a blow across the face._

_"You fucking whore! You've never done anything for me. You told me you wanted to wait, that you weren't ready for _it, _and this whole time you've been screwing guys behind my back. I never want to see your pathetic face again. And you know what, Percy doesn't either. None of us do. So does us a favour, and leave us the fuck alone."_

Percy_. Oh god, what would he think of me now? My closest friend, who probably thinks I'm some ridiculous skank._

_"Please, I'm sorry! I swear, I would never do this! You've got to believe me! Please, please tell them all it was lies. Lies made up by Krista-May! I'm so so sorry! I love you, I really do! I wouldn't do this to you! Please tell Percy, tell all of them. Please!" I'm begging now, tears streaming down my face._

_And that's when it started. The slaps, and punches, and kicks. My small stature and complete lack of energy make me defenceless. I fall to the ground, crying as kick after kick collides with my body. Finally, after what seems to be aeons, it stops. He spits on me. "Go to hell, you piece of shit."_

_*Flashback over*_

"Well, well, well. Looks like the little slut has reached heaven, what with all of these men here needing a nice long fuck." Shit. He's here.

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**A/N: Dun Dun Dahhhh! Any guesses as to who her boyfriend was? **

**We bought a giant teddy bear, and I wasn't allowed to call it Bozo the Bear, so we settled on Grylls the Bear (Man vs Wild!)**

**Thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited ****_Soldier On, _****especially **Princessofthesea13**, who added me to their favourite authors list!**

**I only got one review for the last chapter! Please review, even it's something as simple as "Update". It makes me smile when I see reviews! And if you have any problems, maybe the chapters are too short or the rating should be changed, let me know! :)**

**Love always,**

AwkwardGems.


	4. Chapter 3

_Previously: "Well, well, well. Looks like the little slut has reached heaven, what with all of these men here needing a nice long fuck." Shit. He's here._

**Chapter 3:**

Oh gods. Why did we have to come in theme tonight? Thalia steps in front of me, in a defensive manner, but I shake her off. Why couldn't we get into the club before he saw us?

"Good to see you, Emo. Don't bother sweetheart. I mean, I'm just one more person, and at least you know me, unlike the pedos you could be screwing later tonight!" he chuckles, yanking the zip on my jacket down. Alcohol hits me like a bullet, it's obvious he's been drinking, _a lot._

"I thought I knew you. But I was wrong. You're a worthless little shit, Luke!" I shout. I don't give a damn about what the strangers looking our way think. "Who's the little skank you've bought with you?"

"Don't you dare insult my wife, bitch!" I gag, and burst out laughing.

"Your wife? I'm sorry, but who'd be stupid enough to marry you? You haven't really got anything going for you, have you? No money, no job last time I checked, and you're not exactly good-looking, are you?" I say, while Thalia laughs.

The girl we saw earlier saunters over. "Luuuuke! You said that we're going to the Venetian! Not this cheap place!" She notices us, and inspects us as if we're chewing gum on the bottom of her shoe. "Oh, you didn't say anything about this sort of company? I thought you did this sort of stuff on your buck's night?"

"Not now. These are some old friends of mine. Well, _friend _is too polite a word to describe these whores. More like heart breakers. I dated both, thinking they were sweet and innocent, like you, and they ripped my heart out, and cut it into a billion pieces." Luke says with a sob, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

Thalia smacks him across the face. " '_Heart-breakers'? _What the actual fuck, Luke? Care to explain to the real whore how you cheated on me with my best friend, and you tried to sleep with my mother?"

"And you cheated on me with at least five other girls, not to mention how when you got incredibly drunk at my 17th birthday, you tried to have sex with my dog? I still have that video!" I add, laughing when I remembered Lyra, my dog, and her face when it happened.

"Come on, Shelfy Beulah. The magic show you want to see is about to start," Luke addresses his wife, completely ignoring us, although his face has turned bright-red after I recounted Lyra's horrible experience.

"_Shelfy Beulah_? Wow, Luke, you used to be better at finding nicknames! Really gone downhill lately, huh?" I say.

The girl sniffs loudly. "I'll have you know that Shelfy Beulah is my actual name. Shelfy Beulah Castellan now!" She shoves a hand with a cheap ring on it in my face.

"You've gotta be kidding me? Were your parents high when the named you?" Thalia exclaims, laughing her head off, and grabbing my arm in order to stand up right

Shelfy Beulah giggles and flips her obviously dyed hair. "No, but I was! My parents named me Tuesday, but that name is sooo lame, and so stupid, I mean, what kind of name is it? When I was thirteen, I was kinda-incredibly high at this epic party, the name just came to me."

"Well, that certainly makes a lot of sense!" Thalia says, the sarcasm oozing out of her voice. Shelfy Beulah doesn't seem to notice, because she giggles, flips her hair and starts talking about how Thalia is the first person who finally understands her.

"Hmmm. Well, nice meeting you _Shelfy_. I feel very sorry for you, trapped with Luke for as long as this marriage lasts. Probably a few days, max. Luke, it was horrible seeing you, I hope you rot in hell. Goodbye." Thalia and I turn into the club, laughing at their faces.

As we walk towards the doors, we can hear the music pounding. 'Sweet Nothing' by Calvin Harris is just reaching its final notes as 'Bust a Move' takes over. Thalia starts dancing badly, pumping her fists and thrusting her chest out in time with music, while screaming "Come on, just bust a move!"

"Ugh, you weirdo! Could you be normal for even just a jiffy in your life?" I laugh, while trying to stop Thalia from dancing.

"How long is a jiffy, anyone?" Thalia muses. "JUST BUST A MOVE! C'mon Sugar, you know you wanna dance with me!"

"A jiffy is approximately 33.3564 picoseconds, as defined by Gilbert Newton Lewis," Thalia rolls her eyes at me but continues to scream 'BUST A MOVE' while dancing, well, like a slut. "Save it for the club!" I say, but I join her anyway.

Luke shouts out "Get a room!", but Thalia and I whip round, completely in sync, and give him the bird. We laugh and shout back "Get a life!", still perfectly in time.

We keep dancing, all through Bust a Move, I Love It, Party Bass, and Julius. We're screaming out the lyrics, not caring about anything. I find an empty cup and put it down in front of us. Slowly the cup fills up, and we have to find something bigger.

"I've got it!" Thalia says, still swaying in time to the speakers, which are now blasting out Paper Planes. Living with Thalia has really made me appreciate good music, not crappy Top 40 stuff. Waaayyy too much auto-tune in that stuff.

Thalia dashes of towards the road, where there are pot plants lining the curb. She picks up a pot plant and tips it upside-down, letting the flowers and soil fall onto the ground. She runs back, laughing, and sets it down.

We keep dancing outside the club, completely oblivious to the fact that we really should be going inside, there's more money to be gained in there than out here. A sudden "Oi! Who the hell broke my pot plant?!" brings us back, and we see Mr D, aka Bozo, the club owner. "Thomas, Aaron, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

We nicknamed Mr D Bozo due to the fact that he could never get anyone's names right. That and the fact that he dresses like a bozo.

"Um, sir?" I ask cautiously.

"What is it, Adam?"

"Well you see, you just called Thalia and I Thomas, Aaron and Adam. Those are male names, and we are most definitely _not_ male."

"What matter is it? Unisex names are all the rage, aren't they? Now get inside. You're meant to be working a buck's night, not singing to strangers. Off you go." We turn around and he pats us on the bum.

Thalia whips round and slaps him. "Don't you even dare think about doing that again!" she hisses.

I don't see the harm. We at least know him, unlike the room of men we're about to walk into. He's helped us out before, and as much as his touch disgusts me, I know my life could be a hell of a lot worse.

"Now, now, Tulip. You better behave, or I will never let you back into my club again." Mr D says, quite calmly, straightening his hideous leopard print shirt.

Thalia knows the implications of never coming back here. Mr D's club has the best bar in all of Vegas. That means that there will always be hot young men, or like most times we're here, creepy old guys. And seeing as the club, _Bacchus_, is the most expensive place in the area, the men there are normally _loaded, _which means if Thals and I 'perform' well, the tips will be bigger.

I'm glaring at Thalia, and she sighs. "Lead the way," is all she says as we follow Mr D into the club.

* * *

**Hello everyone! I'm back! I'm really sorry about not updating lately, but if you read my previous A/N, you'd understand. There are still fires burning near my place, but the weather has started to calm down. Thank you to everyone who hoped I was okay! **

**I don't own the songs either. (Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris and Florence Welch, Bust a Move by Young MC, I Love It by Icona Pop and Charli XCX, Party Bass by Bombs Away, Julius by Starfucker, Paper Planes by M.I.A.)**

**There will be Percabeth, I'm just not a fluffy person, so it may take some time. Again, I'm open to constructive criticism, so let me know! Someone asked for longer chapters, so I'll try to make them longer.**

**Sorry about the long A/N.**

**Love always,**

AwkwardGems.


	5. Chapter 4

As usual, the club's packed. Men grinding themselves into slutty girls, slutty girls trying to hook up with guys, and, like always, creepy old rich men, sitting at the bar, waiting for some girl to come up to them.

"AHHHH! OHMYGOSH IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!" Red comes running over to us, squealing over the music, which had begun to play Foreign Language. I was amazed at how quickly she moved over, squeezing through the crowd while balancing on those incredibly high heels of hers.

"Mr D, bit retro of you. What century is this music from?" Red giggles, and flicks her hair back. "Girlies, you're with me tonight! We've got men downstairs, waiting for us! I saw them, and OH MY GOD I HAD TO WIPE THE DROOL OFF MY FACE! TOTAL HOTTIES!" She speaks so quickly that her words blur together.

Mr D makes a face. "I'll have you know that this song came 72nd on a countdown of the best songs of 2011! Now, I need to make sure that no-one has broken my Pac-Man machine." And he's gone.

"Red, you look great!" I say. And she does. Her red hair is pulled back into a ponytail that sits just off her neck. The ends are curled slightly, and she's dressed in a pair of black floral shorts that are so small, they may as well be underwear. Her top is a faded denim crop top, with a very low neckline. The lights flashing across her make the flowers on shorts look like they're 3-D. The look works for her, and her make-up is perfect.

"Why, you're very welcome! Now let's go find us some hunks of meat!" She squeals, again, and Thalia sighs as she pulls us down the stairs, into the VIP section of the club.

I've never been down here. Mr D's pretty strict about who he lets down, and seeing as Thalia and I are new to his club, we have to make do with the un-important people upstairs. But I can see what people rave about. The room's got a very 1920's feel. Dark wallpaper and paint is on the walls, with dark furniture dotted every few metres along the walls. The lighting is dim, and golden. Two spotlights focus on a small stage, on which girls are parading around. The place looks regal, expensive, and pretty empty.

Thalia must be thinking the same thing, because Red laughs. "Chill you guys. Mr D hires the room out to the highest bidder. Lucky for us, because tonight it's a buck's party, which means no old guys for us! We might not even have to go home with them!"

She flips her hair and skips off towards a boy with an elfish face, who is laughing loudly. We can hear her flirting from here. "Hey handsome. I'm Red, and you are most definitely the hottest guy here." Her voice is sweet and girly, and she's curling his hair around her finger while leaning on him, which gives him a reason to hold her.

Red does this so easily. When we first started working with her, she compared this to her art, saying it was an art in its own form. When you draw and paint, there are techniques you use, and it's the same in this business. You just need to figure out how to get the reactions you want.

Thalia just goes up to the person, and straight up tells them what she wants. It can be kind of scary, but I guess that's appealing. Red sweet-talks people, flirting until she's gotten her prize. As for me, I have a thing where I can read people, I guess. One look, at their posture, appearance, the people around them, one look and I know how to wrap them around my finger. I know what they're like, I know all about them. It's easier than reading a book. Red's told me so many times how jealous she is of that.

I take a glass of champagne while watching Thalia sulk in the corner. Red kisses the elfish boy on the cheek, then walks over to Thalia and I, grabbing us and dragging us on stage. She picks up the microphone. "Hey there, hotties!" she shouts, as all the guys cheer. Her shorts have ridden up at the back, giving all the boys a good view. I don't know if she's done this on purpose, or if it's an accident, but we've got their full attention now.

"I'm Red, this is Sugar and Electra," she says, gesturing to myself and Thalia respectively. "Now, where's the lucky man? Where is the groom?" she asks. The spotlights are so bright that we can only see silhouettes of the men who have gathered around the stage.

The crowd begins chanting 'Jason' over and over, until a tall guy with blond hair comes on stage. He pauses for a moment, looking at Thalia, but shakes himself, and walks towards Red. She's pulled a chair out and pushes Jason on to it. He's flushed red, and I can see Thalia shaking, her face suddenly pale. I take the microphone off Red, who's treating the groom to a lap-dance, and say into it "Electra and I will be back in a minute, we didn't expect so many of you, and we plan on being generous hosts. Please enjoy your friend's embarrassment until we return." The men laugh, and wave us goodbye.

I grab Thalia and walk off stage, towards a room which has connections to every escort agency in Vegas. I brush past a man, who looks incredibly familiar. He looks like he's about to say something when the elf-boy pushes him on stage screaming "A dance for the best man!"

I shut the door behind me and turn to face Thalia, who is still shaking. "What the hell was that? We've done this before! What's gotten into you? That groom, he's the son of Jupiter Grace, the richest guy in America! Can you imagine the tip we could have gotten? But NOOO, you had to get scared and freak out! How could you do this?!"

She slaps me. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Annie." She hisses through clenched teeth. "That _groom, _Jason Grace, is my brother! Now do you see why I couldn't do this? First Luke, now Jason. Thank god he doesn't know, what would he say if he knew I was his sister!"

"Oh god, Thalia, god I'm so sorry! I didn't know! It's just, you look so different to Jason, and you told me your father's name was Zeus." I sit down next to her and wrap my arm around her. "Come on. Let's go home."

"But—" I cut her off with a glare.

I reach over to the small table with the phone on it, a press in the numbers that takes you to the escort hotline. "Hello, yes I need seven girls at the _Vault at Bacchus_ immediately." I hang up.

Thalia sniffles, wiping away her running mascara and tears. "Can we…can we take the staff exit out? I don't want to go back out there." I nod, and we walk up the service stairs which leads up into an alley behind the club.

The phone I keep in a pouch on my thigh buzzes, and I see a text message from Red: _where r u? u r missing out!_

I text back a reply, telling her that there was an emergency, and that we'll catch up with her for coffee sometime soon.

* * *

** New chapter! I'm sorry I've been a bit slack with updates lately, I've had a fair bit going on! I might not update as fast as you might like, but I'm working on a new story: ****_Silent. _****The first chapter is up, and I'm working on the next few! Please check it out!**

**Again, if you have any issues, PM me, or review!**

**Love always,**

AwkwardGems.


	6. Chapter 5

It's been a week since the awkward Jason/Thalia moment, and nothing strange has happened. Just work, and attempting to relax in the crappy place we call our home. And as much as I hate this lifestyle, it's been pretty relaxing. Mr D didn't even get mad at us for ditching the party. All we have to deal with now, is Red. And that's what we are off to do.

"Do we have to?" Thalia whines as we walk down to the coffee shop. "I mean, we haven't really spent time with her for ages! Why start now?" She's pissed because I woke her up early this morning. I think that sleeping in until ten would count as a good night's sleep, but NOOOO. Goth Girl over here has to get moody.

"Thals. One: we're going because we ran out on the party last week, and we could have put some serious money into the _Freedom _jar. Two: She let us crash with her when we first got here. Three: she has become our friend and you will come, you will be polite and friendly and you will not complain. Understand?"

She grumbles as we walk in and sit down. "Fine, but you're paying."

I laugh. "I thought I was paying anyway!" I look away from Thalia and see Red walk in. I wave as she heads towards us. "Hey girlies! What happened last week?! I was having so much fun, and then my besties bail on me? I mean, I couldn't even talk to those other girls, they were sooo snobby!"

"Look Red, we're really sorry. How 'bout I go and grab us something and Electra explains?" I say. Thalia glares at me when I call her Electra, but understands. We have one dominate rule in our life: Never, ever, EVER reveal your name to someone, no matter how much you want to. That person may use it against you. The industry is cut-throat, and if someone has something over you, you're screwed. We don't know Red's actual name, and she doesn't know ours. We just go by our stage-names.

"Can I get the Crystal smoothie? And a chocolate cookie?" Red asks, while Thalia demands an iced coffee and a piece of banana bread. I nod and walk to the counter. The guy working there is pretty cute, and flirts with me as I order. "Hey there. What can I get you this fine day, sweetheart?" Ugh. He reminds me too much of Mr D for him to be cute anymore. Alcohol rolls off his breathe.

"Uh. Can I get two Crystals, a chocolate cookie, one iced chocolate, a slice of banana bread, and a brownie?" I try to say but the stench coming out of his mouth makes me gag.

"No problem, sexy. And don't worry about the charge. It's on the house. Can I have your name for the order?" The guy winks at me, and hands me a piece of paper with his number on it. He's kind of creepy.

"Chloe." He smiles. "I'm Steve. Sooo, you wanna get together sometime, Chloe?"

Let's think…NO! Normally I would, but if he's working in a coffee shop, probably at minimum wage, then he wouldn't be able to afford me. But I can't say that. Outside work hours, I'm just a normal girl. "We'll see." I say, and walk off to Red and Thals.

When I reach them, they're cracking up. "Oh my god!" Thalia says between fits of laughter. "That was so funny! I can't believe you actually talked to him!"

Red giggle and says "Did you get his number?" I flop into my seat, and toss the scrap of paper onto the table. "Ohmigosh! It's a business card! Sugar, he has a business card for girls!" She giggles insanely. I sigh and lean back into the seat. I watch them laugh over Steve's strange habits but feel slightly sorry for the guy. "Chloe, order for Chloe!" I hear Steve's voice ring out over the coffee shop.

"That's us. Excuse me." I push past Thalia and walk up to Steve. As I take our food, he looks over at my friends. "Did I do something?" He asks. Poor guy. I can't let him know that his business cards are kind of weird. "Oh no. I very rarely get someone's number. They're laughing because you're the first guy to give me their number in quite some time. I'll see you around Steve."

As I sit down, I scowl at my friends. "You guys are horrible! He was just being nice, and you have to laugh at him, right in front of him. I don't care if what he does is a little weird, but you can't judge him based upon one thing that he did!" Red and Thalia look down at their shoes and mutter apologies. Thalia pokes her head up for a moment, looking at her order, as if to say "Can we eat now?"

"Eat." I say as I pick up my smoothie and begin. Oh god, it's been too long. I've missed this. Oh yummy yummy yummy strawberries, pineapple and OJ! _This_ is good food! Red seems to be thinking the same as me, because we both finish our smoothies before we even touch our food. Thalia looks at us and laughs. I laugh, and Red joins in. We're getting weird looks (when aren't we?), but we don't care. Thalia's dipping her banana bread into her iced coffee, which seems strange. But she scoops up a big bit of whipped cream and smears it across my face. I wipe it off and eat my brownie.

"Red, we've got the day off. You wanna do something today?" Thalia says, finishing off the dregs of her coffee.

"Ohhh, can we go shopping?! I need some new art stuff!" she squeals.

God. Shopping. There are so many things I'd rather do, but those two have already decided. Apparently, Thalia needs some new music, and I guess I could use some new books. They look to me, as if I'm the boss, and I have to give my approval. "Fine," I huff. "But I get to spend as much time as I want in the book store." They roll their eyes at me, but agree.

Ten minutes later, we've arrived at the shops. By some random chance, the book store, the art store and the record store are all next to each-other, and we immediately split up. I walk into the cool fresh shop, and head towards the sale section. I pick up a few random books, touching the soft paper and breathing the scent of new books. A book with an old photograph on the cover catches my eye, so I pick it up and sit down on the ground. _Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, _I read. I open the book, and hear that soft rustle of pages as I begin reading. The pages are smooth and matte, with vintage photographs strewn through-out the chapters. I'm probably half-way into it when…

"Annabeth?" I look up, startled, and see a tall man looking down on me. As I stand up, I realise who this man is. Tall, muscular, with floppy hair and those beautiful eyes. It's Percy.

Well this is fabulous.

* * *

**A/N: Well, Percy's finally made an appearance! I know I promised Percabeth this chapter, and I'm sorry that this is a little disappointing. I wanted to try a little cliff-hanger, but I'm not too good at those.**

_**Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children **_**is by Ransom Riggs, and I do not own it in any way (I own my copy of it though!). It's a good book, check it out!**

**Love always, **AwkwardGems.


	7. Chapter 6

_Previously:"Annabeth?" I look up, startled, and see a tall man looking down on me. As I stand up, I realise who this man is. Tall, muscular, with floppy hair and those beautiful eyes. It's Percy._

_Well this is fabulous._

* * *

Shit. I turn and walk out of the shop, but he catches me, and I'm trapped in his strong arms. "Oh god, Annabeth! I've missed you so much!" He releases me. "How are you?" He's smiling insanely.

"You're kidding. Percy, it's been over a whole year. Over a year. I spent twelve months trying to figure out why you wouldn't answer my texts or emails. I spent twelve fucking months trying to figure out how you could be my best friend one day, and completely abandon me the next. You knew me better than the others did, and yet you believed _Luke _over _me_?! Every day I would think about you, wishing that you supported me. I still cared about you! I reached out to you, and you would ignore me, never acknowledging me, not once! Over and over, I would do that, but then I realised, _YOU DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT ME!_" The anger is radiating off me as I scream at him. He's take a step back, and passers-by stop and stare, and Thalia and Red are watching, horrified. "You still don't. What you did broke me, so much more than what Luke did. You heard the emotion in the voicemail messages, and yet you blocked my number! You pretend you don't know me. I was, and still am, so full of anger, rage and sadness, and you showing your pathetic face and acting like you care just makes those feelings grow. You always used to say 'I love you.'. And I believed you. I did love you Percy. You were my brother, my best friend. But you _were. _You broke my heart. And to think that you saw what Luke did to me and ignore me for this long DISGUSTS me. You sad excuse for a person. You show up here, after I've lived over a year of absolute hell and say 'How are you?', after making no effort to contact me DISGUSTS me!"

"Annabeth, I'm sor-" Percy begins, but I cut him off.

"Cut the crap, Percy. If you really were sorry, you would have made more of an effort earlier. Just fuck off. I was having a good day until you turned up. I don't want to see your sorry face again."

Thalia and Red walk up to me and drag me away, before I start hitting Percy. Thalia looks over her shoulder and gasps. "Is that the Percy you told me about?" she whispers. I glare at her, as if to say 'No shit, Sherlock.' Thalia tears her eyes away from him and looks at me. "He's my cousin."

Oh.

"Come on guys," Red speaks up. "Let's go back to mine. I'll make us some tea. And Sug—Annabeth, don't worry. I won't tell."

Before I know it, we're back at Red's. It's been a while since I've been here, and the place looks great. She's gotten permission from the building owner (presumably in the way that is usual business for us) to paint the walls. Once a faded grey, the walls are now a soft off-white colour, with a white feature wall, covered in rainbow splashes of paint thrown randomly on the wall. The furniture is still drab and broken, but the paint really brightens the place up.

"Sit down Annabeth. You don't need to keep that brave face on any longer." Thalia says as Red brings the tea over.

"It's spearmint and peppermint tea. I remember you used to drink it all the time when you lived here." Red smiles as I take a cup. I lean my head onto Thalia's shoulder, and begin to cry.

Thalia and Red falter. I've never broken down on them; I was always the one holding it together. But seeing Percy made me mad. How could he be so happy? I had tried so hard to reach out to him, to repair whatever I had broken when I left. So many times I would call him, and leave messages, I would be on the verge of tears, pouring my heart out to him. And time after time, he would ignore me. I wanted to go back so much. But I feared Krista-May's reaction, Luke's reaction. So instead I would try to call all of my old friends, trying to explain what happened. I knew that they would side with Luke, that I expected. So I wasn't hurt by their statements…._Annabeth, people saw you two together….Your step-mum said she found porn….How can you prove it wasn't you? _But Percy? I'd know Percy since before school. He knew everything about me. He knew that I would never do any of those things that I was accused of! I told him everything. At one point….at one point, I thought I loved him. Not in a brotherly way, either.

After an incredibly long cry, I sit up and sniffle. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break down on you guys. It's just, seeing Percy, so happy, it really upset me. He broke my heart, what he did. In kindergarten, we made a promise to each-other: we'd never leave. We would never forget about each-other, and we would always be there for one-another. Just a few days before…" I blow my nose and wipe my eyes. "A few days before I ran away, he joked about our promise. When I turned sixteen, he gave me a bracelet with our promise carved into the inside of it. And then he goes along and completely ignores me. Seeing him brings back all of these memories, all of these happy times, and it just reminds me how unhappy I am here! I'm sick of work, I come home every night and I feel disgusting! I hate the looks I get from people, like, '_Oh god. Look at that disgusting hooker. Those people are horrible, dirty insects that must be squished.'. _I just want to be normal!"

They sighed. "Why don't you?" Red asks gently.

"Why don't I what?" I reply.

"Leave."

"Red, I can't just leave! I have no-where to go! And I'd feel guilty if I left you and Tha—Electra behind. I need money. I need somewhere to stay, and I'd need a job. I would have to apply for college, so that I can get a degree and get a job that pays well!" Thalia slides her arm around me as I take a sip of the tea. Red looks down at the ground sadly.

"I was really hoping that I could tell you this at a better time, but it's seeing as it's come up: I'm actually leaving. One of the guys from the party last week asked me out, and not for work. He's so sweet! We talked for ages, and he asked me to come with him when he leaves."

Oh my god. I can barely speak, but I force the words out. "Red, that's great. Where are you going?"

"He runs an art gallery in Spain, and he asked if I could come and display my stuff there." Red sighs, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "And seeing as I'm leaving, my name's Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"As in _William Dare's _long-lost daughter?" Thalia says, shocked. A few years ago, Mr Dare, who is pretty the richest guy EVER, had this whole press conference, telling the world that his daughter had been abducted. He offered a reward of over one million dollars to who ever found the girl. Each year, when the anniversary of her disappearance rolled around, he would increase the reward. No-one had seen or heard from the girl in about four years.

Re—_Rachel _nods. "My father wanted me to go into his company as an intern. I told him I would never do that, and I said I wanted to go to college and get a degree in art. He got really mad at me, and locked me in my room for a week. I got sick of him ruling my life, so I made a fake note and escaped out the window one night. I bought a new phone, and sent a message to my father, making the announcement, and telling him that if he didn't keep my bank account open full of money, bad things were going to happen." She laughs. "I took a plane here and became Red."

Thalia sighs. "I always thought you looked familiar. And I'm Thalia, by the way. Now that we all know who we are, let's plan!"

I confused. "Plan?"

"Our escape, silly! If Rachel's going, it must be a sign! We've got money in the _Freedom _jar, we'll buy plane tickets to somewhere nice!"

"Thals, we only just have over $900. That's not going to be enough to get us anywhere!" I say, annoyed.

A sharp knock alerts us to someone at the door. Thalia stands up and walks over to the door. "Oh…umm, Annabeth, it's for you." As I walk towards the door, I see Thalia standing awkwardly beside none other than Percy Jackson, who's holding the book I was reading at the shop. I'm about to slam the door on him when he says "Annabeth, please, give me a chance! Let me explain, then you can kick my arse. You were always very good at that." He smiles softly and looks at me with hopeful eyes. I turn round and look at Rachel, who nods. "Fine," I sigh. "Any funny business and we'll all hurt you."

As he walks in, he turns to me. "I, uh, saw you looking at this in the shop." Percy stammers. I look curiously at it, as if I've never seen a book before. "You bought me the book?"

"No, Annie, he stole it. Now, stop being a dolt and sit!" Thalia calls. I glare at her while Percy chuckles. "You always were my favourite cousin, Thals, just don't tell your brother." Percy hands me the book and sits down in the random rocking chair Rachel bought.

Rachel brings another pot of tea over and I refill my cup, inhaling the minty scent. We all look at Percy. "What? Is there something on my face?" he questions, rubbing his face.

"Idiot," I mutter. I speak up. "You were going to explain to me, were you not?"

"Gosh, Annabeth, chill, this isn't a CSI interrogation. Calm your farm." Rachel says, handing Percy a cup of tea. He stares at it. "Is there coffee?"

"In this house, no. Rachel says that coffee blocks her 'creative flows of the mind'." I quote. "It's tea or nothing."

He takes a massive mouthful and gags. We all laugh at his stupidity. "Fish Face, it's a: hot and b: incredibly strong. You sip it." Thalia says, slapping the side of his head.

"Oh, well not all of us eat like the queen, Pinecone Face." Percy retorts. I clear my throat. "Maybe you could explain now, because I'm looking forward to kicking your arse."

"Okay then. Well, Luke came to school one day, talking about you had dumped him because you had the hots for his dad. This was the day after Krista-May posted all that shit. Anyway, he talks about how you broke his heart one minute, the next time I see him, he's backstage in the drama centre, making out with Calypso. She tried telling me that he forced by but whatever. Still cheating, so we broke up. At lunch, Luke was talking about why Annabeth Chase was ditching school. I knew that you'd never miss school, and so I immediately knew that something was wrong. I tried calling you, but Krista-May picked up and she said you'd been sent to a boarding school in Canada.

"And at basketball practice, Luke was talking to Ethan and the rest of his buddies about the night before in the park. He showed them a video, and I could hear you crying and screaming at him. I went up to him and asked him what he did to you, where you went. He said he knew what I was doing with you behind his back, which was ridiculous, because nothing had ever happened. So I told him this, but he got mad. Next day, I had a head-ache, but Luke had a black-eye and lost a few teeth. I got suspended for that. All that time, I would spend trying to find you. Facebook wasn't an option, Krista-May had hacked into that and would answer any messages. I went everywhere I thought you might be, your favourite bookstores, the library, the duck-pond, the beach, to the trail you would run every morning. I actually got so desperate that I went over to your house to confront Krista-May, but for some reason, she took my phone and smashed it with a rolling pin. I got a new number.

"When I got back to school, Luke came up to me. He told me what happened in the park, and he was completely honest, which was odd. But he said that if I ever tried to interfere with his relationships again, he'd come for me. He would threaten me every day, he even threatened me by saying he could put you into danger. I didn't actually know where you were, but I was so worried. My grades slipped again and I was dropped from the basketball team. They kept me swimming though, only because the school sucked. Everyone told me to forget about you, they all said you were a worthless piece of shit. Krista-May really made sure that those rumours spread around. And I tried. But I couldn't. Then, what was it? Last week? Thalia's brother had his bucks night. And I saw you. You three were up on the stage. I was horrified, I guess, for lack of a better word. Why? By the way, Jason is very disappointed Thalia. He said, and I quote: 'She's a whore? I expected better than this!' But since then, I've been trying to find you Annabeth. I went to every book-store in Vegas, asking if they had ever seen you. And here you are. I'm…I'm speechless, I'm so incredibly happy, to see you here, in one piece, alive and healthy. I had to prove to myself that you were alive."

We three girls stare at him, riveted by his story. "Wow." Thalia and Rachel say at the same time, leaning back onto the couch. I pick up my tea, only to find it stone cold.

"So, um, are going to hurt me now? Because I'd kind of like some sort of heads up." Percy looks worried.

"Email."

"What?" Percy asks.

"Why didn't you answer any of my emails?" I demand. "I can understand Krista-May breaking your phone, she did that to me, but I emailed you."

"On the school accounts? Yeah, not long after you left, the school found out that some of the students were using it inappropriately, and they shut it down."

I hate to say this, but his story fits. I stand up and drag Percy over to the door. "Well, it was nice seeing you. I'm alive, you're alive, you're not lying, I believe you, hope you have a nice life, goodbye."

Hurt paints itself onto Percy's face. "Annabeth, that was kind of harsh." Rachel says.

You think I didn't realise that? Ugh. "I'm sorry Percy."

He smirks. "That's fine, you can make it up to me at dinner tomorrow." He kisses my cheek. "Later, Wise Girl." He walks out and shuts the door behind him.

I slowly raise my hand up to my cheek as I slide down the door to sit down. I stare straight ahead, trying to figure out what just happened.

Oh god. I'm going out with Percy Jackson in just over twenty-four hours.

* * *

**So, I felt that the last chapter was a little disappointing on the whole Percabeth topic. I hope you liked this, I spent all afternoon writing it after I decided that I should NEVER attempt to write cliff-hangers ever again! And your reviews inspired me! :)**

**Once again, please have a look at ****_Silent. _****It's based on Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, with slight influences from Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson.**

**Love always, **AwkwardGems.


	8. Chapter 7

_Previously: Percy runs into Annabeth, and after a long talk, he's decided to take her out on a date._

Thalia and Rachel slide next to me. "Oh sweetie," Rachel sighs. "We gotta get you ready for this date." Date? Oh yeah, that's right. Perseus Jackson has asked me to dinner. If it's three o'clock now, and the average dinner time is between six and eight o'clock, I have a minimum time of 27 hours to prepare. And I'm not talking about going out and buying a new dress. I'm not mentally or emotionally prepared for this! I haven't been on a date in over a year, let alone a date with someone with whom I have history!

"Now we really need to go shopping!" Thalia say, happiness painted over her face. She knows I hate shopping for clothes, and she and Rachel will make me try every outfit on before they let me buy something.

But right now, I'm in shock. The last few seconds before Percy walked out replay over and over in my head. The kiss, the invitation, how nice he was despite my rudeness.

Rachel and Thalia each grab one of my arms and drag me to my feet. I don't realise until it's too late, but Thalia's got a huge glass of water, which she tips over my head. "Ugh! What was that for?" I shout, shaking my head and spraying water everywhere.

"You had this weird dazed look. It was actually creepy. Now come on. It's time we went and get you a super cute outfit for a date with my super-hot cousin!" Thalia replies. I give her a slightly disgusted look. "He's your cousin!" Rachel says.

"So?"

"You can't do that. It's, like, incest or something!"

"GUYS!" I shout. They stop bickering and look at me. "Thalia spent the last of our free spending money on music."

Thalia gets this mad glint in her eyes, like a mad scientist. "_I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket," _she sings. Rachel joins in. "_I-I-I'm hunting, looking for a come-up, this is FUCKING AWESOME!" _They shout.

I smile and roll my eyes at my insane friends. "_Hey Macklemore! Can we go thrift shopping?" _I say the best little-kid voice I can manage. We laugh, and Rachel throws our wallets at us. Thalia squeals and I just sigh and walk out the door.

We're walking down the stairs from Rachel's apartment, because the elevator doesn't work. I don't know the full story, but apparently, some scientists blew up a heap of chemicals in the, and the building manager's too cheap to fix them. Which sucks, because Rachel lives on the ninth floor.

"Guys, I figured that now you know about me, that we can splurge a little. So I called Robert, my old chauffeur. He quit a while ago, but he's still happy to do me favours. Dad let him keep the limo, so he'll be here in five." Rachel says, while Thalia's eyes light up and my jaw drops. "Oh, please don't. It makes me feel uncomfortable."

By the time we leave the building, there's a sleek black limo waiting for us. A man wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, looking absolutely nothing like a chauffeur, greets us. "Miss Rachel, oh how I've missed you! I thought you were dead! We must catch up at some point. But you need a lift, I presume?" He winks and opens the door for us while addressing Rachel.

"As always, your presumption is right. Can you take us to Material Pleasures by Aphrodite?" Rachel smiles as we slip into the cool dark interior of the limo. Rachel slips out her iPod and connects it to the stereo, and suddenly _Scream & Shout _is blasting out. We all start dancing, well, dancing as well as you can while sitting down. Even Thalia, who taught me to detest pop music, is smiling and swaying to the beat. Rachel reaches into a hidden mini-fridge and pulls out a tray of chocolate covered strawberries, which I just about dive into. "Mmmmm!" I sigh after my fifth strawberry.

The car slows and Rachel squints out the tinted windows. "Yup. We're hear. Girls, you haven't been shopping 'til you've been to Material Pleasures!" We all step out and look at the store. It's huge. A warehouse, painted white, with bright blue trimmings. Material Pleasures by Aphrodite is written in a delicate yet modern font above the door, and two girls about our age run out, squealing and hug Rachel.

"Oh, Rachel! You horrible horrible person! Why did you do that to us? Do you know how long our mother stayed in bed for after you dumped Theo?" One girl says. She's stunning. Black waves of hair tumble down her back and soft blue eyes stare at us.

"Silena, don't be rude!" the other girl scolds. "I'm Piper McLe—sorry Piper Grace, and this is Silena Beauregard-Beckendorf. My sister and I run the shop for our mother, she's always trying to hook someone up!" Piper says, waving a hand casually. Her hair's cut in a choppy style, but it frames her face perfectly. She's got the same clear skin as her sister, but it's darker. And her eyes! Oh, they're beautiful, shifting and sliding from colour to colour with every second that passes.

Thalia falters. "Um. Piper, this might seem rude, but are you married by any chance? Recently?" Piper casts her a wary look, then nods. Thalia looks at me. It takes me a moment, but I realise that Piper is now Thalia's sister-in-law. Rachel chuckles as she comes to the same page. "Piper, I'd like you to meet Annabeth Chase and Thalia Grace, your new sister-in-law."

Silena coos. "Aww, you can tell! They've got the same eyes!" Piper smiles and hugs Thalia. Rachel clears her throat. "Now," she says. "Annabeth here has a date with a very handsome man tomorrow. We need a fabulous outfit for her!"

Piper and Silena exchange a look as their eyes widen. They grab my arms and drag me into the shop as Thalia laughs.

* * *

**Happy Australia Day to all of my Aussie readers! Hope you all had a great day! And all you other people, I hope you all had a good day as well. I saw ****_Les Miserables _****today, and almost fell asleep, although, I planned out the date for Percy and Annabeth, so that shouldn't be too far away!**

**I don't own the song in this chapter (****_Thrift Shop, _****by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and ****_Scream & Shout _****by Will. and Britney Spears). Thrift Shop got number 1 on the Triple J Hottest 100 today! I spent almost five hours listening to that count-down, and I missed the start!**

**I'm going to ask you again to have a look at my new story, ****_Silent. _****I'm working on that at the same time as this, which means updates might be slower.**

**Love always, **AwkwardGems.


	9. Chapter 8

The interior of the shop is modern and sleek, with blacks and metallic everywhere. The back half of the building is a beauty salon, and the rest is filled with designer, vintage, modern, retro, any style of clothes you can think. Even menswear. _I Knew You Were Trouble _is playing annoyingly in the background. The whole place oozes style, and EXPENSE. I wouldn't be able to afford even a tissue here, let alone cloths for a date.

Silena regards me closely. "Now, Annabeth. Do you know where you're going?"

I laugh. "Nope! He _conveniently_ forgot to tell me!" I wish I knew. I hate surprises. You never know what to expect, and that makes you weak. Silena and Piper exchange looks. "Well," she says after an awkward pause. "We'll just have to find the outfit perfect for any sort of date."

"What would you define your style as, Annabeth?" Piper asks as we walk past the punk section, immediately losing Thalia to a signed Green Day shirt.

"Ummm, I don't know. I'm not punk or girly or arty or anything really. I tend to—well I used to wear jeans and t-shirts all the time. But, yeah…" I trail off.

"Okay then." She says, twisting her gorgeous wedding ring. "We can start up back and figure out what you'd like from there. Silena, do want to do make-up, and I'll go help Thalia? Actually, I think the signed section might need more help than she does." She walks off, and consols Thalia, who has presumably just read the price-tag on the Green Day shirt, and has burst into tears. "Oh god!" Rachel laughs. "I better go as well. I'll get it for her. And Annabeth? Everything's on me." Rachel waves a shiny credit card and disappears.

"It's just you and me!" Silena says dramatically. I'm worried. This girls seems to be the Queen of Beauty, an apprentice to the goddess of beauty herself. What will she do to me?

I take breath. "I don't really wear make-up. The smell of it makes me feel kind of sick." I brace for her reaction. Bu she smiles. "That's okay. Piper's like that as well. We'll just go lightly. And anyway, I'm just going to show you how to do it, and then you can re-do it tomorrow before the date." She takes my hand and leads me to a squishy black chair. "But first, your hair _really _needs some help!"

Just as she says this, my phone rings. The number's blocked, so I just ignore the call. But just as soon as I put the phone away, it rings again. I ignore the call and go back to Silena, who's asking how I want my hair. "I don't know. God, I must be the worst customer ever, I don't know anything! Um, just a neaten up, you do what you feel is right."

The whole time Silena's snipping off my hair, the phone keeps ringing. After it begins to ring for the seventh time, Thalia walks up and answers it. "Look, whatever you're trying to sell, we don't want it, okay? Go call someone else, you should have realised by now that we don't want your shit!" There's a muffled voice from the other end. "oh," Thalia says. "Look I didn't realise! Maybe you should unblock your number, possibly? Because I bet anyone who receives your calls thinks that your some telemarketer. " She pauses while the voice speaks. "Yeah fine. I'll put her on." She hands the phone to me. "It's for you." I look at her. "No shit, Sherlock!" I say, while the voice on the other end laughs.

I put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Uh, hi Annabeth, it's Percy." Why's he calling? Actually, how did he get my number? I ask him this. "Thalia gave it to me just after I left. But that's not why I'm calling." I glare at Thalia and she runs back her precious t-shirt. "Okay, Percy. What's up." The line crackles a bit and I hear shouting in the background. "Shut up Leo! Sorry Annabeth, my friend is A MASSIVE PAIN!" he shouts. "About the date tomorrow…I have something on tomorrow evening, an interview. Could we possibly go out tonight?" He's not cancelling on me? But tonight, I'm not working or anything. Before I can answer, Silena rips the phone out of my hand. "She'd love to. Pick her up from her place at seven, sharp. Curfew is non-existent, have fun." She squeals, and hangs up.

"SILENA!" I shout, annoyed. "What? Rachel told me that you aren't working, so why not? Now, we need to work! We have three hours, three short hours people!" Is that not enough? I raise my eyebrows. "What are you doing to me that'll take three hours?"

Piper rolls her eyes. "You really need a haircut, Silena has to do your make-up, I've got to go through this entire store and find something for you to wear, which will be hard seeing as you don't even know what your style is, and Thalia is going to try and bribe Rachel into buying as much stuff as possible." She states. I just sit there blinking. Piper goes into commander-mode. "The date is in T minus three hours. Everything must be perfect. GO GO GO!" She shouts, and soon, everyone's doing something except me. I'm sitting in a chair, wishing I had something to read.

After about ten minutes of flicking through depressing magazines, Rachel walks over and plucks a book out her bag. "I thought you might want this. I grabbed it just before we left. Have fun, princess." She laughs, adjusting the bowlers hat that sits on top of her red hair. _Lolita _by Vladmir Nabokov_. _Oh yes, I've almost finished this one, I think I'll be through with it by the time we're done. I begin reading, my hands gripping the tattered paperback.

I've just reached chapter seventeen in part two of the book when Silena asks me to put the book down so she can do make-up. "You've got such lovely skin, so I won't do anything to that. Which do you prefer, your lips or your eyes?" I think about it. My eyes: grey. Nothing fancy, except for the fact that they are grey. Lips: average lips. So eyes, definitely. "My eyes." I reply. Silena smirks. "Good choice, I was going to do your eyes either way. Close them, would you?" I do as she says, and after almost an hour and a half, I'm apparently done. Half our time spent on hair and make-up, it's ridiculous.

Silena drags me over to the dressing rooms, where the others are sitting down on fluffy couches. Piper stands up. "Oh, you look great! Well done, Silena. Annabeth, we each picked out an outfit, they're waiting in the room for you to try on." She pushes me in and I begin to get changed.

Outfit number one: black ripped jeans, studded converse, white shirt with black stripes, studded leather jacket and a black bag. No doubt, Thalia chose this. Grudgingly, I put the clothes on and walk out. I'm met with looks of disgust, even from Thalia. "Take those off!" she says. "I wanna try them on!" I go back in and toss the clothes out. Silena gasps. "That jacket is vintage, don't hurt the poor baby!"

I turn to outfit number two: red skinny jeans, a grey shirt, green plaid jacket and plum Oxfords with yellow linings. Only Rachel would wear something as weird as this. "Hurry up! I want to try that stuff on!" I sigh, I thought this was about me! I slip the clothes on and walk out. I get winces and even a "YUCK!" from Thalia. I wakl back in get changed, and slip the clothes our gently to Rachel.

Outfit number three: pink high-waisted mini shorts, a cropped white blouse, pink wedges, a clutch, black bow for my hair and a pendant. I wince at all the pink, it's disgusting. But I put it on, and as walk out, Silena coos, "Awww, you look so pretty!" I try to pull my shorts down. "I don't like it. It's too short."

"That's okay," Piper says, holding out a garment bag. "I think you'll like this." I take it and go to get changed. As I open the bag, I look at the clothes. It's nothing fancy, but it's perfect. I'm just worried about the shirt. Faded jeans, a long black blouse that slightly sheer with sleeves but no shoulders, and a pair of flats. It's so sheer! Piper's added a long red necklace, and I put the clothes on and walk out.

"Now, that Annabeth!" Rachel says, thrilled. Silena pulls out a full length mirror and I look at myself for the first time. I've got soft grey eye-shadow and light mascara highlighting my eyes, and my lips are covered in a soft balm. The shirt's sheerness isn't as bad as I thought, you can't see anything. The jeans reach my ankle and the flats are super comfy. My hair looks gorgeous. The front parts are pulled back in some sort of twisted roll and act as a hairband for the rest of my hair, which has been trimmed up and straightened only slightly, to remove what I call the Frizz-Factor.

"Oh." Is all I can say. Thankfully, it's enough, and Thalia saves me. "Holy shit! We're gonna be late if we don't leave NOW!" She shouts. Rachel pulls out a wad of cash, but Piper shakes her head. "Keep it. Consider it payback from when you helped me get Silena to the _Twilight _premiere." She smiles, pointing us out the door, and handing Thalia some bags. "That's our best stuff Thalia. I wouldn't attempt to wear it in and make holes in it if I were you, understand?" Thals nods and barely contains her excitement, squealing and jumping up and down.

"GO!" Silena shouts, thrusting my book out at me. "You'll be late for Prince Charming! Have fun, girly!" We shout goodbye and race to the limo, which is still here, surprisingly. As we get in, I notice Robert watching _Up. _He quickly turns it off and asks Rachel where we are headed. I give him my address and we arrive there just as Percy pulls up in his old blue truck.

"Byebye, Annie!" Rachel and Thalia call. I wave goodbye and walk over to Percy. "Uhh…Um, hi Annabeth. You look great. No, not great, you look beautiful." He opens the door for me and I slide in. "Sorry about changing the plans."

I smile awkwardly. "That's fine." We sit there for a few minutes in dead silence, and I know Rachel and Thalia will be watching from our apartment. "So, uh, are we going to go?" I ask and he starts the engine.

* * *

**Woohoo! The date's next chapter, unless I feel mean and do something horrible! MWAHAHA! I don't own the song (****_I Knew You Were Trouble _****by Taylor Swift.)**

**Please have a look at my new-****_ish_**** story, **Silent**!The links on my profile! Basic outline: Annabeth's mute, and tried to commit suicide. Now's she's in a mental hospital with other PJ&O/HoO characters, trying to trick everyone into think that she's healthy so that she can finally leave and end her life. I'm enjoying writing that, because she's so messed up and emotional.**

**Because I'm back at school in two days, and I'll be juggling my work, music, writing two stories and photography, updates might be a bit slower, but please stick with me!**

**I'd love to get more reviews, evem if it's as simple as "I liked this chapter" or "YAY new chapter". You all know how it feels to get reviews, it feels good! But I'm not forcing you to do that. I will (hopefully) never say that unless I get a certain amount of reviews I won't update, I don't think that's fair. But reviews do encourage me to write, because they let me know that there are people out there who are reading and enjoying this.**

**Love always, **AwkwardGems.


	10. I'm so sorry, AN

Yeah, sorry to do this, A/N instead of a new chapter.

You've probably noticed that I haven't updated in a really _really _long time and I'm sorry. I'm sorry to be doing this but I have to put this on pause. Please understand that there are reasons for me doing this.

1- School is incredibly tough right now and I am only just managing to get enough time in between studying, sport training, coaching and work to read a chapter out of a book, let alone update two stories.

2- I've kind of lost interest in this. I have no real motivation to write this at the moment.

3- _Silent _is a lot more theraputic for me to work on. If you have a look, you might understand. The emotions in it are far more complex and I can vent out my issues.

4-I have no idea where I'm headed with this. _Silent _has a basic story-line, and I have the major plot points planned out, but when I sit down to write this, I go blank. A bit of writer's block, I guess.

I'm not planning on deleting this, I'm probably just going to wait for term to break up and I'll try to work on it over the holidays. I just need to get into the right headspace for this. I have four weeks left until the holidays, and I get a two week break, so if you're patient, I might have a chapter up by then.

I know I've left you at a really bad place, it being the start of the date and everything, but I planned on having less fluffy bits, because a) I can't write fluff well. and b) I'm not big on it, due to the crap that's been happening in my life.

Again, I'm really sorry!

AwkwardGems.


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